05/13/2010

Man U punts AIG for Aon

There it is in an ad for a fancy Swiss watch: three of the top soccer players on the world's No. 1 sports franchise, wearing bright red jerseys emblazoned with the logo of AIG.

AIG?

Yes, all through the financial meltdown and the revelations about American International Group Inc.'s disastrous derivatives trading, the jerseys of England's Manchester United displayed those three tall white letters across the chest.

Now that's about to change, raising the hopes of fans who want more sweeping changes as well.

Starting June 1, Chicago's Aon Corp. will take over what is arguably the most prominent walking billboard in sports, at a cost of $80 million over four years.

A new "Aon" jersey won't debut until mid-July, after all the hoopla from the impending World Cup dies down.

The deal comes amid fan discontent with Man U controlling shareholder Malcolm Glazer, the Florida billionaire who also owns the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Glazer's acquisition of the "Red Devils" put the team deep in debt. Restive followers have been pushing for a new owner, and some have called on sponsors to intervene.

Into this high-stakes drama steps Aon, the insurance broker that traces its roots to W. Clement Stone, who famously put his "positive mental attitude" to work selling policies.

Uberfan Sean Bones of the Manchester United Supporters Trust warns that the value of Aon's sponsorship could fall. "It's something they have to look at very seriously," he said.

Aon has spent the past year developing its Man U marketing strategy, and it has no plans to intervene in running the team, said spokesman David Prosperi.

"It's not our place to weigh in," he said. "We didn't do it because of the owners or because of one or two great players. What they represent in the global market transcends everything else."

With AIG in no position to renew its four-year sponsorship after receiving a $180 billion federal bailout, Man U sent several possible successors a memorable sales pitch. A pair of framed prototype jerseys arrived last spring at Aon's Chicago headquarters for Chief Executive Greg Case and marketing chief Phil Clement, who jumped on a plane to England.

"He came back convinced," Prosperi said. Within a few weeks, on June 3, Aon announced the deal.

Unlike so many recession-battered companies, Aon had the money, as well as a strategic objective. Having jettisoned low-margin underwriting for more profitable reinsurance, the company wants global clients to view it as a broad-based professional-services consultancy.

Competing insurance brokers are seeking greater visibility, too, including Willis Group Holdings PLC, best known in Chicago for renaming Sears Tower.

"We think this is a lot bigger than putting your name on a building," Prosperi said. "There will be millions and millions of impressions."

In 2009, Man U sold more than triple the sales of all NFL jerseys, Prosperi said. Along with its name on the shirt and seats at the matches, Aon already is staging client events such as exhibition games and training programs.

"There was a method to the madness of spending what some would see as an exorbitant amount of money," said David Herman, who runs the team's U.S. supporters' club.

Some fans will be grateful to get rid of the tainted AIG, Herman noted. As for welcoming new corporate sponsor Aon, "a good majority generally doesn't care," he said.

Still, the deal puts a company no one would mistake for a household name front and center.

"It's not about selling shirts," Herman said. "The brand resonance is seismic."

With no disrespect intended, please do not refer to Manchester United as "Man U," because it not only shows your ignorance, but it also discredits your entire article.

The biggest miss in your article was that you failed to inform your readers by mentioning that the American tax payers paid almost $21 million of their hard-earned tax dollars to Manchester United this passed year.

I would highly recommend that you take time out of your busy schedule this summer, and go see the World's most valuable sports franchise in your backyard.

Hopefully after that experience, you will begin to understand the brand recognition, and the global power that Manchester United Football club has.

For your reading, I have attached an article that will hopefully shine some light on why people should never refer to Manchester United as "Man U" as you did five times in your article.

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We Are Manchester United
Manchester United fans should never refer to themselves, or the club as "Man U," because it is derogatory insult towards the club.

The term is only used by supporters of other clubs as a complete and utter insult to our Manchester United. The "U" is meant to be "you" by the rival fans.

An early example of its usage is this chant by West Brom fans: "Duncan Edwards is manure, rotting in his grave, man you are manure - rotting in your grave". The origin of "Man U" is a song to insult the dead Duncan Edwards.

Liverpool and Leeds fans copied this with their own man you /u versions to insult all of the lads who died at Munich: "Man U, Man U went on a plane Man U, Man U never came back again" and "Man U Never Intended Coming Home" (if you combine the first letter of each word you get the word "MUnich").

This makes it a lot clearer that saying "Man U" is an insult, particularly to the older supporters and to see United fans using it now is shameful.

If you are a true Manchester United supporter, you will have read this and repost this so all United fans can spread the word, because ….. WE ARE MANCHESTER UNITED!

Well it is great to see Americans taking an interest in something outside their own Country. I suspect that this article is written because Aon has its HQ in the writers fair city , so its only correct that this sort of news does make the local papers.

Do not doubt the value on a global scale of this arrangement for Aon and lets see what additional "connections" they make from just the Logo on the shirt as that will be the true test of how the average supporter/ or prospect makes that judgement on "what or who is an Aon "

This article is novel, I really love it. I also have some ideas written in my article, you can have a look if you have the interest. We can also discuss different topics.http://www.soccerjerseysmall.com

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